Tape display device

ABSTRACT

A tape display device comprises a housing supporting a pair of parallel rollers between which a tape is adapted to be wound back and forth to display different visual information contained on the tape. The rollers are driven by a continuous belt via an electric motor. One of the rollers is a tension roller which maintains tension in the tape as it is wound back and forth between the rollers. The tension roller consists of a cylinder having end caps for providing bearing surfaces which bear on respective bushes in the housing to provide rotational mounting of the roller. A drive pinion on the outside of the housing has a stub-axle which extends through the bush and end cap and into the cylinder. A spiral tension spring is attached between the end of the stub-axle and a flange of the end cap. The spring is located within the cylinder and allows relative movement between the cylinder and pinion and maintains tension in the tape as the two rollers rotate in synchronism and the diameter of the tape on each roller varies.

This invention relates to a display device and more particularly to adisplay device having a tape or web containing display information,which tape or web is stretched between two parallel rollers on which thetape is wound, whereby winding of the tape back and forth between thetwo rollers enables different information to be displayed. The devicehas particular utility in automatic display of petroleum prices atservice stations where frequent price changes dictate the need for adevice where the price can be changed quickly and conveniently.

Display devices of the general kind in question are known and one suchdevice is described in European patent 0253033 in the name World AcriluxS.A.. Another such device is described in Australian Patent No. 596,441in the name of Milwaukee Sign Company. Both these earlier patents aredirected to the tape or web rollers and means for differentiallyrotating the rollers to compensate for the changing diameters of therollers as the tape is wound from one roller to the other. The devicedisclosed in the Milwaukee Sign Company patent used clutches to engageand disengage drive means from the respective rollers and a differentialbrake to maintain tension in the tape. The mechanism is relativelycomplex and hence costly to produce.

The device disclosed in the World Acrilux S.A. patent providespermanently engaged drive means for rotating the two rollerssimultaneously and one of the rollers is connected to the drive means bya spiral spring; the action of which compensates for the variation indiameter between the respective rollers and maintains substantiallyconstant tension in the tape. The device is a single digit device and inorder to display petroleum prices it is necessary to arrange a number ofsuch devices in juxtaposition. Since the spiral spring is arranged in apulley housing external of a frame of the device, close spacing ofseveral devices is prevented and this is a disadvantage of this knowndevice. Furthermore, the stainless steel shafts which carry the rollersare costly and are also relatively heavy and both these factorscontribute disadvantages to the known device.

Accordingly it is an object of this invention to provide improvements ina display device of the kind in which a tape is wound back and forthbetween two spaced parallel rollers to establish a new display positionof the tape.

Thus, the invention provides a tension roller for a tape display devicefor maintaining tension in the tape as the tape is wound between saidroller and a further roller spaced from the tension roller, said rollersbeing mounted within a framework with their axes mutually parallel, saidtension roller comprising a cylinder on which the tape is wound and anaxial drive pinion arranged externally of said cylinder at one endthereof, said drive pinion and said cylinder being connected by a springto facilitate relative movement therebetween, characterized in that,said pinion has a stub-axle extending centrally within said one end ofsaid cylinder a short distance and said spring is arranged within saidcylinder and is connected between said stub-axle and by the other end tosaid cylinder to facilitate said relative movement therebetween.

Another form of the invention provides a tape display device comprisinga tape which carries a succession of visual information and extendsbetween two spaced parallel rollers on which the tape is wound, saidrollers being mounted in a framework and being spaced sufficient toallow an item of said visual information to be displayed on a portion oftape extending between said rollers, a drive pinion or pulley on the endof each roller and a drive chain or belt driven by a motor andcooperating with said pinions or pulleys to drive said rollers, one ofsaid rollers being a tension roller having a spiral spring between thepinion or pulley and the roller for maintaining tension in the tape asthe tape is wound between said rollers, characterized in that, saiddrive pinion or pulley of said tension roller has a stub-axle extendingcentrally within the end of said cylinder a short distance and saidspiral spring is arranged within said cylinder and is connected betweensaid stub-axle and the inside of said cylinder to facilitate relativemovement therebetween and maintain said tension in the tape, and saidcylinder has end portions which bear on respective bushes in saidframework to provide bearings on which said cylinder rotates.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood oneparticular embodiment will now be described with reference to theaccompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a sectional front elevation of a tape display deviceincorporating the invention;

FIG. 2 is a section along the line B--B of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1 withtape omitted;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale of the tension roller ofthe device of FIGS. 1-3; and

FIG. 5 is similar to FIG. 4 but shows the drive roller of the deviceaccording to FIGS. 1-3.

The tape display device is shown to comprise a housing 10 which supportsspaced parallel milers 11 and 12 which extend between opposed sides ofthe housing 10 and are contained therein. The roller 11 is a tensionroller and the roller 12 is a drive roller as will become apparenthereinbelow. The housing 10 has an open front face 13 across which atape 14 passes in its travel back and forth between the rollers 11 and12. The type 14 is only partly shown in FIG. 1 and passes over idlerrollers 15 and 16 which are arranged between the tension roller 11 andthe drive roller 12 in the path of the tape 14. The path of the tape 14is more evident in FIG. 2.

An electric motor 17 is mounted within the housing 10 on one side andhas a drive gear 18 mounted on the motor shaft on the outside of thehousing. A belt tensioning pulley 19 is mounted on the outside of thehousing adjacent the drive gear 18 and a drive belt 20 extends over thedrive gear 18, pulley 19 and pinions 21 and 22 of the tension roller 11and drive roller 12, respectively. Thus, rotation of the motor causesthe belt 20 to drive the pinions 21 and 22 in synchronism and the motor20 is reversible whereby the pinions may be driven in either direction.The tape 14 contains visual information (not shown) for display purposesand in the case where the device is used to display petroleum prices,the display comprises the numbers 0 to 9 inclusive sequentially on thetape. Also appearing on the tape 14 is bar code information 23 or othercoded data 24 which can be read electronically by bar code reader 36 orelectronic sensors 37 as the case may be to provide precise informationas to the position of the tape whereby the motor 17 may be activated tostep the tape from one position to another via the drive belt 20.

Referring now to FIG. 4, there is shown on an enlarged scale a sectionalview of the tension roller 11. The roller 11 consists of a cylinder 25on which the tape is wound and which has end caps 26 inserted in therespective ends thereof. The end caps 26 provide a bearing surface whichbears on respective bushes 27 located in suitable apertures in the sidesof housing 10, respectively. The pinion 21 is a drive pinion gear havinga stub-axle 28 which extends through a central aperture of bush 27 andpast a flange of the end cap 26 to the inside of the cylinder 25. Thestub-axle 28 is formed integral with the drive gear of the pinion 21.

A tension spring 29 in the form of a spiral spring in located adjacentthe end of stub-axle 28 and extends from the stub-axle out to the endcap 26. The spring 29 is connected to the stub-axle via slot 30 and atthe other end is connected to end cap 26 by insertion in a suitablelocating slot (not shown). A spacer washer 31 is provided between theflange of the end cap 26 and the bush 27 and a keeper washer fits overthe end of stub-axle 28 and is retained thereon by retaining clip 33which retains all the components in position.

At the other end of the tension roller 11 the end cap 26 bears on thebush 27 in the same manner and is rotatable thereon when the cylinder 25is rotated to move the tape 14.

As will be evident rotation of the drive pinion 21 by means of drivebelt 20 causes the stub-axle and consequently the tension spring 29 tobe rotated which then causes the tension roller 11, that is, thecylinder 25 to also be rotated. Of course the tension spring 29 allowsdifferential rotation between the pinion 21 and the cylinder 25 wherebysubstantially constant tension is maintained on the tape 14 despite thefact that the tape will almost always have a different diameter on eachroll depending upon how much tape is wound on one roll as compared tothe other. Adjustment is necessary during assembly of the apparatus toensure that the maximum extent of the tension spring 29 is not exceededwhen the tape is wound completely off one of the rollers 11 or 12 and onto the other.

In FIG. 5 there is shown in detail the drive roller 12 which isessentially the same as the tension roller 11 except that there is notension spring providing a differential drive between the pinion 22 andthe cylinder 25. A spacer 38 takes the place of the tension spring 29.Like components have the same reference numerals as between FIGS. 4 and5, The essential difference is that the drive roller 12 of FIG. 5 has adrive plate 34 connected between the stub-axle 28 and the end cap 26.The drive plate 24 is connected to a flange of the end cap 26 byprojections 35 on the flange of the end cap 26 which engage in spacedcircumferential holes in the drive plate 34, In other words the pinion22 is rotationally locked to the cylinder 25 so as to rotate therewith,The main components making up the rollers 11 and 12 are the same at eachend of each roller and in each of the two rollers to reduce the numberof different components.

It should be evident to persons skilled in the art that the provision ofa tension roller 11 and drive roller 12 which do not have a centralstainless steel axle, means that the assembly is much lighter and lessexpensive to manufacture. Furthermore, the location of the tensionspring mechanism inside the tension roller 11 rather than externally ofthe housing 10 provides a much more compact overall design. This meansthat the width of the pinion 21 which is outside the housing 10 may bereduced thereby enabling adjacent tape display devices to be arranged inmuch closer proximity. This can have considerable advantages when anumber of such devices are arranged in juxtaposition to provide pricinginformation.

In addition to the above the housing 10 is manufactured from clearplastics material which is moulded to the desired shape and this enablesartificial lighting (not shown) to be located behind the device wherebyinformation displayed on the tape 14 is readily visible at night. Italso results in an extremely lightweight device.

Clearly, the invention may take other forms to that shown in thespecific embodiment described above. The shape and arrangement of thecomponents may differ considerably and it is only important that thetension spring mechanism be located inside the housing 10 and that thetension roller 11 and drive roller 12 be designed so as not to require acentral axle.

I claim:
 1. A tape display device comprising:a single drive means; tapeto be displayed; a pair of spaced apart rollers between which said tapeto be displayed is wound, wherein each of said spaced apart rollers ispositively driven by said single drive means; wherein one of saidrollers provides tension in said tape, said tensioned roller comprisinga hollow cylinder on which the tape is wound, said hollow cylinderhaving a first end and a second end; and an axial drive pinion connectedto said hollow cylinder by a spiral spring to facilitate differentialmovement between said rollers as the respective diameters of the rollerschange due to tape transfer from one roller to the other roller; whereinsaid axial drive pinion comprises a stub-axle partially extending intosaid first end of said cylinder such that said spring is arranged withinsaid cylinder and is connected between said stub-axle and said cylinder.2. A tape display device according to claim 1 further comprising a bushat said first end of said hollow cylinder for providing bearing surfaceson which both said stub-axle and said cylinder are able to rotate.
 3. Atape display device according to claim 1 further comprising a bush atthe second end of said hollow cylinder for providing a bearing surfaceon which said cylinder is able to rotate.
 4. A tape display deviceaccording to claim 1 further comprising end caps positioned at saidfirst end and said second end of the hollow cylinder.
 5. A tape displaydevice comprising a tape which carries a succession of visualinformation and extends between two spaced parallel rollers on which thetape is wound, said rollers being mounted in a framework and beingspaced sufficient to allow an item of said visual information to bedisplayed on a portion of tape extending between said rollers, a drivepinion or pulley on the end of each roller and a drive chain or beltdriven by a motor where each of said rollers is positively driven bysaid motor, one of said rollers being a tension roller having a spiralspring between the pinion or pulley and the roller for maintainingtension in the tape as the tape is wound between said rollers,characterized in that, said drive pinion or pulley of said tensionroller has a stub-axle extending centrally within the end of saidcylinder a short distance and said spiral spring is arranged within saidcylinder and is connected between said stub-axle and the inside of saidcylinder to facilitate relative movement therebetween and maintain saidtension in the tape, and said cylinder has end portions which bear onrespective bushes in said framework to provide bearings on which saidcylinder rotates.
 6. A tape display device according to claim 5, whereinthe other said roller is of similar construction to said tension rollerwith the exclusion of said spiral spring and said stub-axle isrotationally locked to the cylinder so as to rotate therewith.
 7. A tapedisplay device according to claim 5, wherein said framework comprises ahousing manufactured from clear plastics material whereby artificiallighting located behind said device is able to illuminate the visualinformation at night.
 8. A tape display device according to claim 5,characterized in that, said cylinders include end caps at each endthereof, said end caps being secured to rotate with the respectivecylinder and each having a cylindrical recess co-axial with therespective cylinder and providing a said end portion in the form of abearing surface which bears on a respective bush.
 9. A tape displaydevice for displaying one or more images on a tape comprising:a motor; ahousing; a first roller, positioned within said housing and capable ofrotating about a first axis, wherein said first roller has a first endand a first opening at said first end; a second roller spaced apart fromsaid first roller within said housing and capable of rotating about asecond axis which is substantially parallel to said first axis; andillumination means positioned between said first roller and said secondroller for illuminating an image on a tape; a first axial drive pinioncapable of rotating about said first axis, said axial drive pinioncomprising a stub-axle which partially extends into said first openingof said first roller; a second axial drive pinion capable of rotatingabout said second axis and connected to said second roller such that therotation of said second axial drive pinion causes said second roller torotate; and a spring having a first end connected to said stub-axle anda second end connected to said first roller such that the rotation ofsaid first axial drive pinion causes said first roller to rotate;wherein said first axial drive pinion and said second axial drive pinionare connected to said motor such that said motor is capable of rotatingsaid first axial drive pinion and said second axial drive pinion.
 10. Atape display device according to claim 9, wherein:said spring comprisescoils which spiral away from said first axis.
 11. A tape display deviceaccording to claim 9, wherein:said axial drive pinion is substantiallypositioned outside said housing; said stub-axle extends through anopening in said housing.
 12. A tape display device according to claim 9,further comprising:a bush at said first end of said first roller forproviding a bearing surface on which said stub-axle and said firstroller are able to rotate.
 13. A tape display device according to claim12, wherein:said bush is fixed in said housing; said axial drive pinionis positioned outside said housing; and said stub-axle extends throughan opening in said housing and an opening in said bush.
 14. A tapedisplay device according to claim 12, further comprising:an end cappositioned at said first end of said first roller, said end capproviding a bearing surface for said first end of said first roller.